


You're Not Him

by mageofpie



Category: Until Dawn (Video Game)
Genre: Abuse, Angst, F/F, Underage Drinking, but i hope y'all like it anyway, it ends up happy tho dont worry, this is super sad and self indulgent and headcanony
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-09-06
Updated: 2017-09-06
Packaged: 2018-12-24 18:49:43
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,087
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12018858
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/mageofpie/pseuds/mageofpie
Summary: Ashley hates her fatherorAshley drinks and ton and spills her guts to a hot blonde





	You're Not Him

**Author's Note:**

> this is........... so self indulgent  
> i have so many headcanons about ashley and her past and i love ash/jess cause im in rarepair hell so this was obviously the only solution
> 
> and massive huge thank you to imdisappointingmyparents for helping me edit n come up with ideas for when i got stuck on this ily ur great <3

Ashley was almost completely her mother.

She had her red, untameable hair; she had her large, round, green eyes; she had her button nose; her soft jaw; her sarcasm; her wit; and her thirst for knowledge.

She’d been told as much by family and anyone who’d seen the two of them together.

“Oh, you look just like your mother!”

“She really is your daughter, Julia.”

“Always got her nose in a book, that one. Just like her mother.”

However, if there was one thing about Ashley she didn’t get from her mother, it was her personality.

Sure, there were tidbits here and there but overall…

Her mother was kind and nurturing. Compassionate, even. Julia was firm, but loving. She loved her daughter with enough ferocity it could rival the energy of the sun, and Ashley loved her mother just as much.

But Ashley was different.

She was callous and even though she wore her emotions firmly on her sleeve, she didn’t exactly know how to understand them. She certainly didn’t know how to understand anyone else’s. She was blunt and straightforward and had very little regard for how people would react to it because it was the truth and even if they didn’t like it, well, suck it up, buttercup.

Forthright, her mother would say, with all of her English teacher wisdom.

For all her social anxiety and fear of being judged, she sure did like opening her big mouth an awful lot.

Because Ashley may have been an almost carbon copy of her mother, but personality wise she was mostly her father.

She hated it.

Ashley didn’t like to talk about her father.

She didn’t like to  _ think _ about her father.

Whenever she did it felt like her chest was going to collapse in on itself and her head began to fill with static, like it was yelling at her not to remember anything previous to her turning 16.

For as long as Ashley had been a sentient being on this earth, and probably even before that, her dad had been a complete and total shit head. To put it eloquently.

The memories she tried so hard to ignore liked to nip at her mind when she was trying to sleep, when she was on the bus, when she was watching a movie with her friends. Any moment her brain wasn’t running he liked to rear his ugly, rat like head and remind her of where half her genetics were concocted.

Her friends didn’t really ask why it was just her and her mom living in Los Angeles, or why Ashley had suddenly appeared at their high school midway through their sophomore year after moving from Massachusetts. She was glad for it.

They also didn’t ask where the abundance of scars on her had come from.

She was glad for it.

It wasn’t a stretch to say that every single one of them was caused by her father; directly and indirectly.

She had a chipped front tooth from when he’d shoved her in the kitchen and she’d smashed her face off the stove; she had a large gash on her arm from when he’d thrown a broken beer bottle at her from the couch; and there was one particularly nasty one on her back.

She’d gotten that one after the new “friends” she’d made at middle school told her that if she wanted to hang out with them she’d have to take something from the local dollar store. Her 13 year old mind had been desperate for anybody to accept her and had shuffled around the small aisles, filling her hoodie pocket with candy bars and cookies. She had hurried towards the shop door before the guy behind the counter yelled at her and she bolted outside.

Her friends had said they’d be waiting for her on their bikes to pick her up and book it out of there, loot in hand.

They’d lied.

She’d given back all the food, sobbing and begging the owner not to call her parents but he did and had felt like her entire digestive tract was about to drop out of her asshole the entire, silent car ride home. Her dad was never usually this quiet, which had made it worse.

By the time her mother had found the courage to file a divorce and get a restraining order, they’d both been damaged beyond belief.

But it was only after they’d gotten away from him that Ashley started to notice the similarities. Sometimes just the way she enunciated a word made her jolt with recognition. But it was more than that.

She drank excessively, to the point where she couldn’t stand up straight, to the point where she’d get aggressive and heckle her friends at the parties they’d invite her to. They all thought it was hilarious to see her that way, but even in the back of her alcohol ridden brain she knew what it all reminded her of.

A party such as this one, actually.

Ashley twitched awake from almost-sleep, jostling her drink and spilling half of it onto the stair she was seated on. The drink itself was an unnatural colour and had been handed to her by Josh after she’d finished her last one, and the one before that. Under any other circumstances, any other person wouldn’t accept a drink from a guy even if they knew him, but honestly Josh could have put rat poison in this thing and she would have drank it if there was a bendy straw and enough tiny umbrellas in it.

She never drank beer.

The smell was too familiar.

Considering how absolutely out of her mind she was, this wasn’t one of the Washington’s bigger parties if it could even be called that at the moment.

Most of the people who weren’t part of the “Terrific Ten”, as Chris sometimes referred to them with a cheesy grin before getting various stationary thrown at him, had already headed home, were in the process of leaving, or had passed out in various spots on the floor. The music had been turned down significantly in exchange for drunken conversations and groggy laughter.

Ashley picked the small umbrella out of her drink and stuck it behind her ear, glugging down the remaining liquid and pulling a face at the bitterness.

Way too much vodka, Josh.

She grabbed onto the banister as firmly as she could and stood up, immediately seeing spots and felt a white heat at the base of her skull. She blinked until they disappeared and stumbled towards the kitchen, hoping to get another drink from the resident bartender.

As she rounded the corner to enter the kitchen however, she walked face first into Jessica who was leaving it looking mildly disappointed. The two yelped, stumbling backwards. Jess, who seemed a lot less drunk that Ashley was, grabbed the smaller girl’s arm and steadied her, letting out a giggle that was far too bubbly for… however late it was.

“Yikes, Ash, sorry,” Jess grinned and Ashley was thankful she was already flushed from the alcohol to hide the blush that found its way onto her face.

“S’fine, man,” she slurred, shaking her head and making a manoeuvre to quickly move around the tall blonde. She felt Jessica’s grip on her arm tighten and pull her back.

“Woah, you going to get another drink from Josh?”

“Mm,” Ashley furrowed her eyebrows and shuffled to keep herself upright.

“Uh, Josh passed out on the counter, and Beth isn’t letting anyone else make drinks,” Jess sounded annoyed, “said Josh was already going overboard with them.”

Ashley clicked her tongue and moaned.

“To be fair, Ash, uh… you look like you don’t need another drink.”

Ashley scowled and felt a jab of irritation at Jess who genuinely seemed concerned at how drunk Ashley was compared to everyone else who was currently awake.

“Yeah? ‘the fuck d’you know, shithead?”

She internally winced but held her ground. There it was. She just couldn’t escape her old man, could she?

Rather than being upset by her blatant insult, Jess just rolled her eyes and huffed a laugh.

“Oh yeah, you’re way too drunk, you only swear like that when you are.”

Sounded about right.

“Come on, let’s sit down,” Jess suggested, curling an arm around Ashley’s shoulders and gently moving her away from the kitchen and towards one of the free couches.

She must have really been worried if she was being this nice to her, Ashley thought. Normally Jess would leave her drunk friends to fall over themselves and fall asleep in a puddle of their own vomit. Ashley glanced at her through bleary eyes and caught her looking at the cocktail umbrella rested behind her ear.

“’re you jealous of my fabulous accessory?” Ashley joked, the last word sounding more like she was saying ‘ _ assery’ _ .

Jess barked a laugh and rolled her eyes, “Oh, yeah, I’m fuckin’ dying of envy over here.”

“Hey...don’ be s’castic with me. I can tell you want it,” Ashley slurred. Jess just laughed again.

“Was that a planned innuendo?”

Ashley’s mouth twitched and she wheezed.

“In  _ your _ endo.”

The laugh was short and turned into a coughing fit, Ashley lurching over to face the floor. Jess smacked her back but remained cackling away beside her.

“Oh, man, this is hilarious,” Jess said, her voice higher an octave from laughing, “but like, seriously, do you want me to call you an Uber or something?” The smile remained in her voice and Jess leaned down so Ash could hear her. Ashley caught her breath and cleared her throat, mulling it over.

She  _ was _ pretty tired, and she certainly didn’t want to pass out around all these jokers who probably had Sharpie’s at the ready. She didn’t even know what time it was but she guessed her mom was already in bed. Man… bed sounded nice right now.

Ashley lifted herself up and nodded weakly, humming a “yes” whilst leaning against Jessica’s shoulder, eyes closed.

“Alright, you big baby, gimme a sec,” Jess rubbed Ashley’s back once more before patting the pocket of her jeans. She frowned. She shuffled her hands over her front and back pockets, looking around the couch and moving cushions, checking the floor, “Hang on.”

Ashley had heard her but still let herself fall onto the couch after Jess had gotten up to search for her phone. She wondered why Jess was being so nice to her. It wasn’t like the two of them were the closest to each other; Ashley had Josh and Chris; Jess had Emily and Matt. If anything Ashley had been apprehensive of Jess the first time meeting her. She’d reminded her of all those girls who used to tease and bully her. Same cheerleader type, that’s for damn sure.

Ashley had only started warming to her when Jess had squirted milk out her nose laughing at one of Josh’s dirty jokes. It wasn’t even that funny, but it had humanised her to Ashley. Made her seem more approachable.

Ashley didn’t realise her eyes had slid closed until she was being lifted into a sitting position and Jess had angrily huffed down next to her.

“I can’t find my fucking phone.  _ Again _ .”

Jessica’s preppy rich girl attitude really shone through at times like this. Ashley almost laughed at how cliche she was.

“You’re gonna have t’get one of those old’n ones. Like… those huge suitcase phones,” Ashley said, grinning. Jess laughed at that, brightening up a bit.

“Yeah, my dads will have me on a flip phone next. I’ve already lost so many they stopped forking out hundreds for iPhone’s about four phones ago,” Jess giggled, sounding safe in the knowledge that her dads would even be getting her a new phone.

Ashley stopped laughing and frowned. Something about that rubbed her the wrong way.

“How d’y’know they’re gonna get you a new one?”

Jess barked a laugh again, like the question was hilarious for some reason. She looked at Ashley like she was an idiot.

“Oh, man, they always do. Even if they’re mad all I have to do is like, vacuum the hallway and beg a bit,” Jess grinned her pageant queen grin, “They can’t stay mad at me.”

“...Oh.”

Jess’ grin remained but her eyebrows quirked, “What, you jealous of my fabulous connections?” Jess laughed again.

If Ashley had been in a better mood she might have laughed at the reference to her own joke but it just made her more irritated.

“That’s- I- uh,” Ashley squeezed her eyes together, trying to stop the drunken stuttering long enough to form a coherent sentence. Jess dropped the smile and frowned, apparently suddenly aware of what Ashley’s soured mood.

“Okay, what’s up with you? You got all serious all of a s-”

“So your parents just- they just do whatever you want. All the time.” Ashley cut her off, her spite bubbling just beneath the surface. She shuffled back to sit up straighter, trying her hardest to regain some kind of sobriety.

“I mean, it’s not like that,” Jess said quickly, seemingly annoyed at Ashley’s accusatory tone. “They still, like, ground me sometimes and stuff, but I can always just pull a face and--”

“No, that’s just, it’s funny, ‘cos it reminds me one time I lost my phone, this dinky little flip phone and when my dad found out he was like, ‘how did you manage to lose that thing? It was bright purple, you stupid girl’.” She laughed hollowly. “Then he beat the shit out of me.”

Ashley felt her heart thudding in her chest. She didn’t talk about her dad. Ever. Let alone to any of her friends, and now she’d just drunkenly confessed to it. But it felt good almost. Jess was staring at her in shock, mouth open slightly. Her eyebrows furrowed in the middle and Ashley grimaced at the suddenly pitying look that adorned her face.

“Don’t fuckin’... don’t fucking look at me like that, like you  _ know _ .” Ashley flung her arms in the air, spitting out the words. It felt like now that she’d started she couldn’t stop. All of her careful repressing and avoiding was about to be undone in one drunken rampage and Jess was about the take the brunt of it.

“Your dads  _ love _ you. They love you, Jess. If I had what you had I wouldn’t ask for another fucking thing in my life. You got two dads who  _ love _ you, who actually  _ wanted _ you. You got two and I couldn’t even get  _ one _ .”

Ashley angrily swiped at her eyes, trying to catch the hot tears before they fell. She hated that she cried so much so easily. Any emotion she couldn’t handle and she was crying.

“Ash--”

“Just, don’t, shit- shut the fuck up, you stupid whore,” Ashley barked, her father’s ghost taking her over for the umpteenth time that night. “You spoiled brat.  _ Fuck _ you. You don’t  _ get  _ to feel sorry for me. Bitch.”

Jessica looked on the verge of several emotions, none of them good. Ashley knew from second hand experience that Jess wasn’t usually one to take a verbal lashing like that sitting down. Ash could see her eyes darting, brows furrowing, unsure of how to react to what Ashley had just said to her. She looked like she was about to cry, yell at her right back, hit her, or some combination of the three.

Ashley didn’t want to give her the chance for any of them.

Ashley stumbled off the couch, waving her hand dismissively at Jess and hurried back towards the stairs, but she tripped on the rug and hit her head, hard. Well, not that hard, really. She’d had worse. She wondered how many times she’d been hit in the head in her life, struck by a fist or a beer bottle or thrown against the corner of a table. How much damage had her brain taken?

Maybe, maybe if she’d lived with a family like Jessica’s, she could’ve grown up normal. She wouldn’t have to take court-ordered psych meds to function like a goddamn human being. She wouldn’t have turned into such a broken fucking idiot.

She was more frustrated that her dramatically angry exit had been ruined by her falling.

Ashley stood clumsily, quickly, trying to get away from the room before she had a total breakdown. Not only would it be in front of Jessica, but in front of people from school she didn’t even know that well. Most of them were too absorbed in their own conversations to notice her but it still felt like every eye in that room was lasering a hole into her.

She really wanted to be home right now.

She felt her way along the wall through bleary eyes, tears back in full force. She had to get outside, or to the kitchen, or  _ somewhere _ .

Already she was regretting her outburst. The guilt was hot in her chest and clogging her throat. It wasn’t like Ashley hadn’t had outbursts in the past, it’s just that they were always in Josh’s basement when her and Josh had been venting nondescriptly at each other. They anger had been at the world, not each other.

But that just now, that was personal.

Jess hadn’t deserved that. She didn’t know. Ashley had called her horrible things. The same insults her father had hurled at her and her mom.

_ “You little bitch. You think you’re so smart and then you go and try to steal shit, you little fuckwit--” _

_ “Richard, stop, please--” _

_ “Shut up and get- get the  _ fuck _ out of my way, you stupid whore. She embarrassed me and she needs to be punished for that. Sit the fuck down or I’ll break your fucking nose again.” _

Ashley whined, stumbling through the hallway of the Washington mansion, tripping over discarded beer bottles and solo cups, “Fuck off, brain. Fuck off, oh my god.”

She needed a small space, a fucking broom cupboard or cubby hole or whatever. Mansions have cubby holes, right? She needed to curl up and sleep and wait until she was sober enough to pretend like she didn’t remember saying what she’d said.

Ashley barged her way into the closet under the stairs, shoving herself amongst the winter coats and shoes. She could wait here. Wait to calm down. Wait for Jess to leave. Wait for the Washingtons to move out and for the construction company to bulldoze the whole place to make way for some luxury condos.

Her lungs strained and her breaths came out shaky. She wanted to go home, she wanted her mom. Ashley balled her shirt up in her mouth and screamed into it, biting down hard on the thin fabric and hoping the awful feeling would just go away and she could pass out drunk or something.

She sat there for a while, head and stomach churning. She might have fallen asleep at some points but it was hard to tell, sitting there in the dark. Either way, she’d been there for a while by the time she heard the hesitant knock on the door.

“Hello? You in here?” Jessica’s voice was muffled through the door but she could still hear her clipped tone. Whatever daze Ashley found herself in was immediately replaced by panic. Tears pricked in her eyes and she felt her guilt return tenfold. Without waiting for a reply, the door to the closet opened, dim light from the hallway making Ashley blink and curl in on herself more. She didn’t look at Jess.

Jess who sighed and pulled on the cord to turn the small bulb hanging from the ceiling. It flickered a few times before remaining on, the yellow light barely illuminating anything. Jess shuffled into the cramped space and closed the door behind her, struggling to fit her gangly body between the sneakers and snow boots.

She sat across from Ashley, still saying nothing.

Ashley felt like her heart was about to come salsa dancing out of her chest and into a bloody heap on the floor. The silence was almost as deafening as a rave would be.

Her voice cracked when she spoke.

“M’sorry.”

Jess shrugged and hummed, seemingly avoiding eye contact as much as Ashley was.

“It’s fine,” Jess mumbled. There was a pause and she shook her head, “I mean, it’s not fine, but you know.”

Ashley’s chest seized at that. She knew she’d fucked up, but she didn’t think Jess would come find her just to bask in it. She shuddered a breath, “I-I-I know, I’m sorry, I didn’t want to s-say tha-at stuff.”

Jess blinked in recognition.

“Oh, wait no, I don’t mean that… well, fuck you for calling me a whore, but that’s not what I meant.”

Ashley stared at Jess over her arms, knees huddled to her chest. Jess frowned and looked around the small room, still avoiding eye contact.

“I mean, like, all that stuff about your dad. It’s not fine. It’s fucked up. I know you don’t like to talk about him so I kinda guessed he was a piece of shit but I never knew in what way, I guess. I wasn’t even thinking,” Jess let out a harsh laugh, “but when am I ever, right?”

She shook her head angrily.

“No, this isn’t about me, sorry. I just… that stuff, about getting a new phone and stuff, and my dads… I didn’t realise it was going to set you off like that,” Jess shook her head again, letting out a groan of annoyance. She grabbed a handful of her hair and tugged it, “That sounds like I’m being an ass about it. Fuck. I’m not good at this.”

What the fuck is happening here? Ashley didn’t know what to make of this whole situation. Was Jess apologising? Was Ashley supposed to apologise?

Jess sighed once, holding out her hands flat in front of her, pausing for a second.

“Okay. Look. I’m sorry I was being a fucking bitch about my phone and shit. I didn’t mean to make you think about your dad or anything, but I guess I did, so I’m sorry.  _ But _ ,” Jess held out a finger, eyes stern, “what you said… really hurt my feelings. I guess I kinda deserved it but-”

“No, you didn’t.” Ashley finally spoke. She’d relaxed somewhat, letting go of her knees from such an intense grip, “What I said… that wasn’t fair. You didn’t know, and I lashed out. Just because I was upset and drunk…  _ am _ drunk, that’s not an excuse for me to be awful to you. I’m… I don’t wanna be like him. I wanna be better. I’m trying my best. I’m so sorry.”

Ashley huddled her face against her knees again.

That’s what it all came back to, wasn’t it?

She wanted to be free of her father, of the memories and the scars and the part of him that lived in her whenever she held a grudge or got too angry.

Ashley almost shat herself when she felt Jess grab her hands, clasping them in her own. She had a determined look in her eye that Ashley couldn’t look away from.

“Ashley. The fact that you even wanna be a better person just shows that you’re nothing like him.”

Ashley almost laughed at that. Her mother had said that to her more than once.

“Jess, you’ve seen me when I’m not being careful. When...wh-en I’m drunk or angry o-or scared. I say awful shit a-and I hurt people and...and I have him in me, everywhere, just waiting to come out when I let my guard down. I can’t not be like him, Jess, his shitty genes are in me.”

Jess rubbed her thumbs over Ashley’s knuckles, looking like she was trying to think of what to say. Ashley wasn’t expecting Jess to help her or even listen to her, but saying all this stuff that had been festering inside her for years feels better. She still felt pretty godawful though.

“Listen, you need- Ashley, look at me,” Jessica’s voice had a harder edge to it than Ashley was expecting, but she raised her eyes to Jessica’s anyway, “you need to stop fucking comparing yourself to him. Like, right the fuck now.”

Ashley blinked. She wasn’t expecting that.

“I’m being dead serious. You can’t keep fucking pushing the blame of your shitty actions onto some fuckwad who just so happens to be your father. Ashley, you’re smart and funny and super fucking cute, but you’re also kind of a huge asshole, and not always in a quirky, lovable way. That’s who  _ you _ are, not your dad. And you need to own it.”

Through talking, Jess continued to hold Ashley’s hands which made her feel a lot better. Despite getting thoroughly chewed out.

Jess took a breath, looking like she was still unsure of where she was going with this, “Look, I’m no therapist or whatever, but I’m pretty sure it’s equally as shitty to be like ‘I can’t change who I am, it’s in my genes’ as it is to actually be shitty. Like, saying you are who you are because of your dad is true, but only to a point. You have to move on, Ashley. Forget him, live your life, be yourself, and just try to be a better person without all this ‘but my dad he’s part of me’ bullshit, ‘cause it’s only holding you back.”

Jessica sighed through her nose and nodded, as if to say “there’s my two cents, take it or leave it”.

Neither of them said anything for a few seconds and Jessica still held onto Ashley’s hands.

Ashley licked her lips.

“So… you think I’m cute?”

Jessica’s eyes widened and she let out a high whimper of a laugh, “Oh my god, I say all that shit and that’s what you get from it?”

“Leave my gay ass alone, Jessica.”

Jess snorted and released Ashley’s hands, lightly smacking her shoulder.

Ashley felt lighter, that was certain. She had a watery grin plastered on her face and she fumbled with her thumbs.

“But… really, though. Thank you. I think I needed someone to say that to me,” she said. “God...I know I can be kind of an ass sometimes. I’m working on it, but it gets...hard sometimes.”

Jess nodded.

“I get that. We all have our shit to deal with. And I’m willing to help you, if you want. But like, you know you gotta own up to the shit you do and say, I don’t have to tell you that. As long as you keep that in mind, there’s no way you’re gonna turn out like your dad. Remember, you’ve also got your mom’s genes, and she’s fucking awesome. And personally?” Jess ruffled Ashley’s hair. “I think you’re pretty great. Even if you’re also a giant fucking dork.”

Ashley flushed pink, laughing dumbly.

“Aha, stop it,” she waved a hand, “but, wow, geez, this has been… emotional.”

“God, right?”

“Just think, if I hadn’t gone to get another drink all of this emotional vulnerability nonsense could have been avoided,” Ashley said. “It’s like what Chris says, with like the butterfly.”

“Oh  _ god.  _ If I have to hear him talk about the fucking butterfly effect one more time I’m gonna rip off his head,” Jess laughed. “It’s so, like pseudo-deep and stupid.”

“I think that’s Chris in a nutshell,” Ashley told her. “Pseudo-deep and--well, not stupid most of the time, but he can be pretty fucking dumb sometimes.”

“Seriously, though,” Jess said, “I, like, think you’re a good person. I really like you. A lot.”

“You do?”

“Yeah. I--”

“Are you guys fucking in there?” Emily’s voice came through the door. Ashley jumped and yelped, forgetting for a moment that the cupboard her and Jess were in wasn’t the only part of the universe that existed. Jess snorted and banged her fists against the door a few times.

“Yeah, we’ve been scissoring for hours, getting pretty sweaty in here. Wanna join in?” Jess immediately cackled and Emily made a screeching noise that was a mix of a laugh and disgust.

“Not on your life, just give me my fucking coat, I’m going home. This party blows.”

Awkwardly, Jess and Ashley stood, hunched over in the small closet space, as Emily opened the door on them, looking suspicious.

“Don’t tell me you two were hanging out being all deep and shit.”

“What’s the matter, Em?” Jess replied. “I thought you liked when people went deep.”

Emily laughed again.

“Ewww. You’re so drunk, Jess. Go home.”

“I mean, I will if me and Ash can bum a ride off you. I lost my phone again so I can’t call an Uber.”

Emily looked at Jess quizzically and reached into her jeans pocket, pulling out a pink, bedazzled-to-hell phone, “You mean this phone right here? This phone you gave me specifically so you wouldn’t lose it?”

The three of them were silent for a moment before Jess reached forward and snatched her phone out of Emily’s hand, “You know what? This is all your fault somehow, Emily.”

Ashley snorted, putting on her best nasally nerd voice, “Boom. Butterfly effect.”

“Fucking god,” Emily sighed. “That stupid joke--ugh, whatever. Let’s go. I’ll drive. I can’t drink anyway because of my stupid final tomorrow. I’m gonna ace it anyway, obviously, but, like, I don’t wanna be hung over for it, you know?”

Jess rolled her eyes and let out an exaggerated sigh, grabbing Ashley’s hand and dragging her out of the closet, “Yes, Emily, we know that you’re a big ol’ nerd who needs her beauty sleep.”

Ashley couldn’t remember if she’d brought anything that wasn’t already stored away in her many pockets but figured Josh would give it back if she had.

On the way home Ashley thought about her friends, and how she’d been lucky to ever stumble upon them in the first place. Had her English teacher not just happened to pair her up with Beth Washington, she never would’ve gone to a Washington hangout and met all her first real friends. She’d finally found good and loving people who accepted her despite and maybe even because of her quirks, just because of a random partner assignment for a project.

She thought that beat Chris and Josh’s story, but she’d never tell them that.

Actually, she totally would, just to see the look on Chris’s face. And to get Jess to laugh. Maybe.


End file.
